Leg Post 74
Leg Post 74 introduces the Amazons to the Greek Legends chapter. It opens with the Atlantean Otrera battling against the forces of Helebon as they invade Atlantis city, running adjacent to NeS2 Post 1881, where she leads a squadron in the defence against the invading demon army. She and her team use talismans to leap the walkways of the city to escape the encroaching horde and lure them into a trap set up by the Atlantean military around the royal palace, Edras Magnaulam. She uses her magiblaster to strike from a distance and her club, imbued with forceful magic, to smack any that come close. They must cross the open parkland that surrounds the palace, which leaves them vulnerable but also opens the demons to attack from the soldiers stationed at the palace. They cross the river of vril, which ignites with power to then fry the demons that try to cross - forcing them to uses the bridges that act as choke points. Just as the battle heats up it is suddenly over as reports come in through the communication orbs that the WriterGod has disposed of Helebon in the Basilica Numenaedes. After the war is over, however, the Atlanteans become consumed with pride and ambition and, using a communication from Prince Oberon as the basis, they set plans to conquer the stars, now ruunning alongside Pan Post 64. Otrera doesn't agree with this and she deserts Atlantis and becomes a bandit that steals from the Atlantean caravans. She operates out of the Great Steppe and many disenfranchised Scythian women, who live nomadic lives there, decide to join her. They use stun methods against those they steal from but when men come to their home to kidnap the women for a harem, they slay the men and gain the title 'slayers of men' or Amazons in the old language. The spacecraft of the Atlanteans take to the skies but they are met by a sudden, alien force that seeks to stop them. Then the world is shattered and broken as the ultranexus explodes and plunges continents, including Atlantis, into the ocean and kills over half the human population of the world. Without the magitech of Atlantis the humans must find new technologies. The Amazons invent the concept of cavalry, using horses, pegasi and grphons to ride. They would steal girls from cities to bring them up as Amazons, they would welcome any woman into their ranks. In order to get pregnant they would mate with the shapeshifting si'la who would have the appearance of a woman with the sexual organ of men. They founded the city of Otreriana, named after Otrera, and continued to raid their neighbours, including Greece to the west and the Hittite Empire to the south across the Black Sea. One of the queens, however, chose a heterosexual relationship with a man, the greek god Ares, and bore Hippolyta. He gave her the gift of Hippolyta's Girdle. She constantly had to prove herself against the other Amazons that resented her as born of a man. When she comes of age at eighteen she leads an expedition to prove her worth, not against the old targets but against the newly independent nation of Troy from Hattusa. Post Founding of the Amazons Otrera was a tall and strong woman, with muscles to rival plenty of slimmer men down at the gym. She had worked hard for those muscles when she worked as a captain in the Atlantean military branch. Atlantis had grown peaceful in its old age, unbothered by the other human nations of the world. Its greatest rival, Kumari Kandam, was older and more decadent but caught up with entertaining itself rather than jockey for power with the technologically advanced Atlantis. But then Helebon’s forces invaded and war consumed Atlantis and its people. Other human nations joined Atlantis’ cause and joined the ranks against the Hell-spawn. While the great and famous heroes, the Champions of Atlantis, led the charge, the rank and file military were up to their necks in violence. Otrera led her squadron in combat. They used their magiblasters to pump the enemy full of magical projectiles. The weapons drew aether from the air into its canister and quickly converted it into magic blasts. The longer the canister charged up, the stronger the blast. Otrera’s squadron went into the thick of battle, with Ares as their bannerman. He was a god of war and thirsted for battle. His dominance and lust for violence spurred the soldiers into a heated frenzy as they pushed their bodies to the extreme. When their magiblasters would no longer suffice without the range required to get a good and powerful shot, they resorted to the more brutal means of swords and clubs. Blades cut flesh while the clubs were imbued with a powerful aether exploder. Upon physical contact the club would send a quick-spell that could excite the aether around its head. The spell wasn’t controlled or artful, but it didn’t need to be. The aether would explode and whatever the club struck was sent reeling into the sky. Otrera’s weapon of choice. The forces of Atlantis held off the invaders to great effect, even whittling them down as the war progressed. Everyone knew this was the final battle as the demons had finally made their incursion into the city itself and Helebon, the Archdemon leader of these forces, was marching at the fore of the army. Th Atlanteans were pushed back many times, but they knew their city and their commanders had drawn up battleplans for the defence. They would retreat and regroup in new battle lines to continue destroying the demons in their relentless advance. It was difficult to battle an enemy with no fear for their lives. They would happily run into the line of fire without a second-thought. Otrera’s squadron retreated through the Holy District. They were a mile from the Basilica Numenaedes, the grand temple of the WriterGod, where reports of Helebon were blasting through the communication orbs that floated after Otrera. She, however, was dedicated to the task of protecting Edras Magnaulam, the royal palace of King Stafford and Queen Exeter. The king and queen were locked up within the palace with the royal guard protecting them but troops were falling back to defend the building from the exterior. Otrera and her squadron ran through the streets of Atlantis. They were already several storeys from ground level. The public vehicles had been shut down, so the only way to travel was on foot or with magitech. Otrera’s squad were all outfitted with talismans that allowed near-flight with mighty bounds. They leapt from their walkway that connected the two skyscrapers on either side of them and reached a platform somewhere above. Without pause they jumped again to another platform and made their advance quickly through the streets. Flying demons gave chase, though they were undisciplined and unfocused. Many of them stopped to start smashing the buildings or statues or plants. The decorative water tubes that flowed with pleasant, bubbling water, along many of the buildings were smashed and broken open to unleash torrents of water over the platforms and rain down into the depths of the streets where most of the unwinged demons were also trashing the place. With each leap into the air, the Atlantean soldiers would turn and make a quickshot into the demon horde behind them. As well as picking off their numbers, this meant the creatures continued to pursue them. When a larger, faster, demon suddenly burst from within one of the buildings, Otrera, without breaking her flow, twirled in the air and landed her club to the stomach of the monster. With a yowl, the beast was sent soaring back into the window from whence he had emerged. Edras Magnaulam was given a great parkland to surround it so the soldiers all dropped from their platform to land on the street below. They were quickly set upon by some of the smaller, faster creatures but they were taken out with ease. The blood of demons spilled across the sandstone path. There were no roads, unlike other cultures that used wheeled vehicles, only paths for walking. Shrubs were potted in neat rows and many people decorated the outside of their apartments with flowering vines. Shops usually had large windows in which visuals would shape and change to advertise products. The parkland around the palace was large, wide and open. This would be a dangerous crossing – for both the soldiers and the demons. Otrera led her people over the gardens. They had no time to take care not to tread of the flowers. Behind them the bulk of the horde finally burst from the street with howls and roars and eerie, terrifying wails. The air was filled with the unnatural vocals but it was normally filled with the tinkling of ambient music played to ease people as they went by. Then the air was filled with the roaring of magic, energy and fire as the demons hurled whatever they could at the retreating soldiers. Flaming clouds appeared above them to drop burning droplets upon them, bolts of magic struck the ground at their heels and telepathic attacks seared their minds. Then the defenders around the palace opened fire. They had formed lines around the palace and many were sniping from the upper floors. Magical blasts zipped past Otrera and the demon horde were engulfed in a torrent of magical-energy. Catapults were unleashed, hurling giant blobs of acidic vril into the air until it splashed down on the pursuing army. Some magically-hardened soldiers flew in the air and dropped spells upon the demons or took on the other flying counterparts. Otrera’s group leapt over the river that acted as a moat around the outskirts of the palace. Just as the last human crossed the gulf, the vril within started to crackle and growl with energy and any demon that tried to cross was zapped so hard they burnt to a husk. The bridges were too important to destroy but they made excellent choke points for the Atlanteans to decimate the demons crying to cross. The bodies of the monsters piled on top of each other as they started to climb over the fallen to get to the palace and the hill of bodies grew ever taller. At the front of the military blockade were the heavy-hitters. They wore heavy suits of orichalcum armour that was fashioned for the very select few heroes who had proven themselves to be the best-of-the-best. They were armed with spear-like weapons that doubled-up as rifles as they opened fire with magical blasts from their tips into the approaching horde. Then, suddenly, it was all over. The communication orbs reported that Helebon was defeated by the WriterGod himself within Basilica Numenaedes and the demons, without their leader, had no reason to continue to fight and they began a mass exodus of Atlantis. Many, however, were content to begin pillaging and rampaging without a cause but the Atlanteans made short work of these vagabonds. After the war ended, Atlantis began to reconstruct. Several of the Champions went on their way, though others remained. Ares himself took a leading role in the new Champions and was especially hailed by the military as a great hero. With their victory over the demons, Atlantis showered itself in praise. The Champions were commemorated, the heroes of the army were celebrated and the rulers were revered by the people. When it came to light that Atlantis had received a communication from the stars, sent by the distant Prince Oberon of the fairies and his Atlantean wife Titania, sudden interest in new possibilities surged within the Atlanteans. An upsurge of nationalism took hold of the people of Atlantis. Massive warships were under construction to begin unadulterated expansion into the cosmos, intent on conquering rival alien worlds and spreading the ‘greatness of humanity’ to the stars just as Prince Oberon and Titania once had. This supposed manifest destiny spoke volumes of Atlantean arrogance and the new thirst for war disgusted the venerable Captain Otrera. She wasn’t the only one. Britticus, one of the Champions that had helped to thwart Helebon’s army, displayed his disappointment with this new direction and made his stance very clear as he departed. Those who were likewise disillusioned saw this exit as a rallying call to follow suit. War was her business, it was her job, but never her duty. There was no deep-rooted patriotism for the patch of dirt she happened to be born on and dying in the name of King Stafford and the Ancient One was never on her to-do list. Worse still was the idea of murdering a bunch of alien beings who were defending their right to independence and freedom. Forcing ‘enlightenment’ upon others seemed very ironic. Her way of war was in the protection of those she cared for. That was the way of old, the traditional way. Now the common people were obsessed with space and weaponry and planting flags. They were inspired by the truly ancient tales of Atlantis wherein the young nation had sought to gain land and resources and supremacy. Apparently stabbing people in the face was the best way to teach humanity’s peace, tolerance and civilisation now. Otrera deserted. Otrera initially worked as a mercenary for these people. She soon found, however, that banditry was the far more effective option, not just for her but for those she met. Atlantean caravans and traders were juicy targets. As former captain, she not only knew how to operate the magitech she stole but she knew the operation parameters and inner workings of the Atlantean military so she became exemplary at the task. She stole everything. Food, medicine and weapons. Most of the food and medicine was sold or given away but the weapons were hers. She roamed the Great Steppes of the planet, wielding her magiblaster. Fortunately it could be adjusted between lethal and non-lethal. She didn’t want to become the murderer they had asked her to become in the first place. She also didn’t want to become subjugator of the people of the steppe but she soon found others wanted to join her. While Atlantis was a bastion of equal opportunities for men and women, a lot of other civilisations were not so balanced. A muscular woman with a penchant for guns was unseemly to most patriarchies of the Scythian people, the nomads that lived on the Great Steppe. She was joined by an unlikely ragtag group of women who didn’t fit with their tribes. Strong women, intelligent women, lesbian women – all of which suited Otrera just fine. She taught them to use the magitech they stole and together their band raided and bandited their way to success. When groups of Scythian men came to capture themselves a harem after hearing of this band of women, they were slain – this gave them the title of ‘killers of men’, which read as ‘amazon’ in the original language of the Great Steppe. The Atlanteans didn’t do much to curb the Amazons. Their thefts were not significant enough to warrant a largescale retaliation and Otrera’s knowledge of Atlantean operating procedures meant she was always one-step ahead. She normally chose the camps or caravans where she knew there were rookies in charge and took every advantage. Several months earnt her and her Amazons a cult status as a folk hero. She didn’t kill the Atlanteans they robbed and news that she was helping underprivileged people only enhanced her reputation both in Atlantis itself and amongst the Scythian people. More disenfranchised women flocked to the Amazons. It took just a single year for Atlantis to build a terrible navy to sail into the stars and rain down destruction on those who would oppose them. Otrera had travelled far into the lands of the Great Steppe, which offered a wondrous scene as the starships took flight. She was witness then to the arrival of another fleet of ships that sought to halt the advance of the Atlanteans. The spacebattle was both amazing and horrifying to behold. She knew that Ares would be up there, fighting in the upper atmosphere and leading the charge to glory. And then catastrophe happened. She never discovered the exact cause of the explosion but she knew it was the ultranexus that gave Atlantis its power. The wave of devastation rocked the entire planet. She thought the world itself would split in twain. The ships were struck by the force of the blast and brought down in ruins. Chunks of spacecraft fell and plunged into the oceans. The continents were smashed. Atlantis was all but gone, with just a few islands remaining, as was Kemari Kandam. The entire civilisation was wiped out, innocent of any misdeeds against the Atlanteans or the fleet of ships that had tried to stop them. Entire deserts were suddenly formed as the land was blasted and swept of life and water. Entire cities and other civilisations were destroyed in the blink of an eye. No population was spared and the total world population was more than halved in an instant. Killed thanks to the murderous ambitions of those that stood to gain the most at the top of Atlantean society. Humanity was thrust into an emotional, spiritual and technological decline. The abundant resources of Atlantis has been freely traded to other civilisations, especially food, but they were now gone. The reliance on Atlantean technology made a sudden halt as much of it suddenly ceased to function. Travel was suddenly limited, as was communications. Each pocket of humanity regressed and became insular and isolated. But the surviving Atlanteans among the Amazons strove to continue their independence. They were the first to develop a new mode of transport in lieu of the magitech vehicles of Atlantis. They developed cavalry. They tamed horses for riding across land. They tamed pegasi and gryphons for riding through the skies. The other Sycthian tribes were quick to follow suit, though they were forced to use only horses as they were more common and easier to breed. The Amazons had had to adjust from a life where they were able to steal everything they needed to a life of self-sufficiency. While many Scythian tribes continued their nomadic lifestyles, the Amazons settled and founded the city of Otreriana – named after their founder many decades after her death. Millennia passed and the Amazons still held to their ways. Women only they were still predominantly raiders. They largely targeted other Scythian tribes. They would slay the men and capture the girls. The women that agreed to join them did so while the women who refused were released. This was the means by which they would quickly increase their numbers. They did also raid the cities of the Grecian mainland, including Thrace and Macedon, to the west and the lands within the Hittite Empire to the south. Greeks were easier as they were not united as a single nation and their lands were wide open to Scythian plains. The Hittite Empire lay on the opposite side of the Black Sea. To get there the Amazons would be limited to flying cavalry or be forced to travel around the inland sea by horse, which would give them plenty of time to await the Amazon arrival. Rarely was an Amazon born via the seed of a man. The eldest daughter of the queen was, however, daughter to a Greek God. Her mother, the current queen, had been tempted by heterosexuality and thus Hippolyta was born as the daughter to the god of war – Ares. With such divinity in her blood she was able to protect her right to be queen despite the nature of her birth. She was granted a special gift by her father, a girdle that would imbue the wearer with superhuman strength. She was able to snap the bones of contenders with ease. This ferocity was commended by her fellow warrior women despite her parentage and her mother held Hippolyta as a paragon of Amzonian strength. If girls were to be born, as they sometimes were, then Amazons would seek out the supernatural Si’la. These beings were not human but appeared just like human women, except they happened to have male appendages that could be used to get an Amazon pregnant. The si’la were able to do this due to their shapeshifting abilities, able to alter parts of their bodies to appear in different ways. This was considered an acceptable means of impregnation by the Amazons, so long as there was no actual man involved. At eighteen Hippolyta was finally of age to personally lead raids against their neighbours. Rather than make the obvious choice of taking girls from the Scythians, or even the Greeks, she made it her challenge to claim girls from Troy. The city lay on the coast of Anatolia, lurking to the far west with the Hittite Empire to the east. The city, under the guidance of Priam, had declared its independence and built mighty walls to protect itself from being reclaimed by Hattusa. This was a worthy challenge to the daughter of war. And so, across the Black Sea went the raiding party of the Amazon princess. Notes Britt's Commentary "The original source material states that the AmazonsAmazons article, Wikipedia. attacked and conquered AtlantisAtlantis article, Wikipedia. during one of their raids. Considering NeS' Atlantis is so powerful, this couldn't be the case here but I still wanted to tie in some kind of Amazon-Atlantis conflict. OtreraOtrera article, Wikipedia. is commonly described at the first Amazon, so I wove her into the last stages of the Atlantean Saga. The post is intricately woven into the pre-existing posts of NeS2 Post 1881 and Pan Post 64, both written by Al Ciao the Writer, retelling the scenes but from a different perspective with a lot of new details, such as naming locations of Atlantis. I also wanted to add more to the world building of Atlantis, which features heavily in the backstory of NeS with very little specifics ever related. This led to the creation of various magitech items. According to sources, Amazon origins could be in various locations but I chose ScythiaScythia article, Wikipedia. as it would help to tie the Amazons easily into the Greek Legends narrative so far, placing them within distances of both Greece and the Hittite Empire. Otreriana is a made up city as the Amazons founded many cities, but none are mentioned on the Great SteppeGreat Steppe article, Wikipedia. itself nor are any the capital city of their culture. One source placed them next to the Black SeaBlack Sea article, Wikipedia., which is where I placed them. The Si'laSi'la article, Wikipedia. are from Arabian MythologyArabian Mythology article, Wikipedia.. Originally I was going to have the Amazons reproduce as described in the source material, by travelling into Scythian towns, but I decided a more supernatural meeting would be more interesting, which also makes the birth of HippolytaHippolyta article, Wikipedia. have a deeper conflict. The original Hippolyta and her sisters were children of Otrera but given the time lapse in NeS, this was impossible." ~ Britt the Writer References External References Category:Post Category:Leg Post